Kimberly Daniel

I find that by incorporating experiences that I have gone through that relate to the class study, really provides the student not only with great examples, but it also allows them into your world a little bit. Students tend to open up themselves and tend to become more relaxed.

I agree with you totally! I think that students who miss should be given a different exam than the ones who took it initially.

Absolutely! I think that sometimes they feel that they can just skate through with no problem at all. I stress constantly how important attendance is.

I agree with you to a point. What about those that just can't make it? What I do is tell my students that they have to have a legitimate reason for missing the test. For example, if they miss the test because they were sick, I want to see a doctor's excuse, or something that can prove their claim.

That is an excellent idea! I think that I will have to borrow your strategy. I believe that this will work very well for my students, especially those that are younger. It gives them incentive. Thanks for sharing!

In my classes, the students play family feud with the test information for the week as a way to drill and also to motivate them to learn and study. We divide into two teams and go to the board. I call out the terms or information and they race to write the answer on the board. The losing team has to dance for the other team. It is fun and it really motivates the students to study and learn the material.

Students sometimes come to class tired from working, on their mind, and can't focus on the lecture for the night. When I notice that students are pretty much saturated, I change the atmosphere by playing a game, or doing some role playing to stimulate the learning environment. Students who feel bogged down often feel that they can't complete their goals.

I have had a problem in the past with students showing up for class maybe two days out of five. I have explained that in class assignments are being missed when students do not show up, and valuable information being missed as well. Students sometimes will be absent on test days so that they can ask the other students what was on the test. To combat that situation, I change the test for those that missed the original.